Over the years, many means have been developed for the placement of a plurality of either plain or engraved or otherwise decorated plates on a plaque board in such a manner that the plates are aligned in straight columns and rows.
These techniques are used to assure that the alignment is as nearly perfect as can be obtained in order to present a plaque that is pleasing to the eye.
In the past, templates have been used to provide the desired aesthetic results. The template is fabricated by carefully measuring the plaque face and the plates to be attached thereto. Then, by the use of mathematics, the space available is divided up to provide the correct number of rows and columns and the layout is drawn on the template. Guided by the lines drawn on the template, cut outs are made in the template of the size and shape of the plates to be attached to the surface of the plaque board. The template is then attached to one board after another and the plates attached by using screws or drive pins or by placing an adhesive material to at least one of the mating surfaces and the plates pressed into the cut outs to provide the desired uniform result.
It should be quite clear that the use of this technique is quite time consuming, tedious, and requires a new template for each different plate and plaque board. Also, it is impossible to make even slight adjustments to the layout once the template has been made.
From this background description, it should be evident that a new technique which allows for a relatively simple and quick means for aligning plates to be attached to plaque boards and which may be easily adjusted at any time would constitute a significant advancement in the art.